Abit throws gauntlet down to RIAA, governments

[thayne]

This looks nice:

For MAX3, the ABIT Engineers listened to users who were asking for information security. SecureIDE connects to your IDE hard disk and has a special decoder; without a special key, your hard disk cannot be opened by anyone. Thus hackers and would be information thieves cannot access your hard disk, even if they remove it from your PC. Protect your privacy and keep anyone from snooping into your information. Lock down your hard disk, not with a password, but with encryption. A password can be cracked by software in a few hours. ABIT's SecureIDE will keep government supercomputers busy for weeks and will keep the RIAA away from your Kazaa files.

http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=10769

http://www.abit.com.tw/abitweb/webjsp/english/news1.jsp?pDOCNO=en_0307251

[Styro]

It looks interesting to paranoids who think they are going to be busted by law enforcement and/or need some hardware encryption. But this would not keep the RIAA/MPAA out of your files. You have to give your passphrase at some point to boot/access your own files and once you unlock that drive anybody you share with will also have access.

Basically smells like marketing hype drawing on current events. Until I learn what encryption scheme is used and if there is a backdoor, I'll continue to recommend drivecrypt (multiple schemes, no backdoor and four lines for passphrases) to other paranoids...

-- Styro

[thayne]

This one uses a hardware USB key. I guess if you ever loose the key you're SOL...

[TBoneit]

If they want to see the contents they can subpeona (sp?) the key.

Even easier stay legal. My own brother won't accept any cookies, so he can't use lots of sites. I don't worry about cookies because I don't go anywhere I care if others know. Neither does my Brother, but he's weird sometimes.

I had a customer today won't give telephone number, we use it as our lookup key if you need a reprint, so if he looses the invoice he's SOL. Whereas I'll give my phone #, it isn't as if I answer it anyway.

YMMV

[thayne]

I'm not interested in it for legal reasons, I like the idea that if someone were to steal your computer they couldn't access your personal files.

[Styro]

Oh, they use a hardware usb dongle key. I wouldn't want to have anything to do with that. All anyone has to do is steal the duplicate (they do give you two, right?) and they have access whenever they want. There is probably a universal backdoor dongle already on file with various international, federal, state and local 'authority' groups. Sheesh, might as well encrypt your files with the built-in WinXP routines.

An interesting toy gimmick, but serious encrypting needs PGP and/or drivecrypt.

-- Styro

[overloaded_ide]

Security is not just for paranoid!

For some reason mention security, locks, hidding places, and the first word you here is paranoid?

Crime is an every day (many many times a day) occurance in this country! Car theft, home breakins, Identy theft, etc...

I would like something that could stop anyone from ever getting into my system except me! Some way absolutely no-one could ever break and gain access. No I not paranoid, but consider the number of homes broken into! Sooner or later it could happen to me as well as you or anyone else it already has happened to! Not paranoid, just real life! Like buying fire insurance, most home owners never had a fire, but many buy insurance jsut in case anyway!

It looks interesting to paranoids who think they are going to be busted by law enforcement and/or need some hardware encryption. But this would not keep the RIAA/MPAA out of your files. You have to give your passphrase at some point to boot/access your own files and once you unlock that drive anybody you share with will also have access.

I for one have personal stuff I would like to have on my computer but don't because I don't want others to have it if they steal it!
As for sharing, well yea, once you are into your system you are in and if you leave it available then so is anyone else! BUT if I am traveling and the car breaks down and the system is stolen from the trunk while I am off calling a wrecker, well then they aren't gonna be in it!
Or if the system is stolen from the house, they have to at least shut it down to get it out the door
Or if the IRAA a**es get it confiscated they can't get in! Yea that one would be great! I could fight them for a heck of a long time, fight for my right to privacy, constitutional rights, civil rights, challange their right to look etc... all before honoring any court order to boot the system! Challange the courts athourity to order it booted!
Then see the egg on thier face when nothing is on it! Also the great counter suit I could have!

Just because I lock something up does not mean there is or ever was anything illegal on it! It just means I don't want anyone else to see what I have. Kinda like wearing clothes! We all know what most men and woman have, but most hide it under some clothing anyway right!

[libtech156]

This is a horrible idea. If you use this encryption how are you going to share your files? If everyone did this file sharing would die.

[TBoneit]

And what would be wrong with file sharing dying?

If that would kill filesharing it must mean that only pirated files are being shared. You are only sharing legal files that you created from your own original work, aren't you.

When I hear someone say how can my kids download their music, I think to myself, it isn't their music, it is something that is being stolen, just as if they walked into the store and stole the disk. but somehow it is OK if it is only the big corporation that is being ripped off. The same person that would be shocked if you told them to stop buying in the store and just steal it, sees nothing wrong with stealing it over the internet.

they all have their little justifications for the filesharing....

And if their number comes up in the RIAA lawsuit lottery, the judge will listen to their justification, : I wouldn't have bought it anyway" Etc. and still say guilty.

and in case you are wondering I don't have any filesharing software installed on my computer home or work, excluding Newsgroup readers, outlook express is an example of what I mean. Why because I could upload or download off of music newsgroups using it.

My stray thoughts.
YMMV

[overloaded_ide]

One of the things about file sharing is everyone first thinks stealing so often. How about replacement?

Many people DO share thier own creations! SO they DO have the right to do so as they are the copy right owner!

That is something that rubes me the wrong way, when is see things like NO COPY RIGHTED FILES and such posted as if anything copyrighted means stolen or theft! Hey I have several works of my own, Yes they are copyrighted, that does not mean they cannot be freely shared and copied, it only means I own the exclusive right to say so! It is my choice what is done with my work and no-one elses! I can sell it, give it way, make it public domain, what ever, it's for me the owner and creater to decide! I just wish it were something worth having though

But many arists are that way, I know bands that wrote their own songs and music. They have the right to freely share it if they want to, but it still belongs to them and is copyrighted! If some big name artist then records it they still have full right to all copyright royalties for writing the song!

That is the good thing about P2P and a reason no-one should be able to ever shut it down! As long as even one file is shared with permision of the LEGAL OWNER of the work then p2p is fully legal!
Only those doing the illegal files are guilty of anything, not the software or technology!

Also if I own a broken cassette tape, or my 8track player is not working, what is wrong with my downloading songs I already own? I am not stealing by downloading the same thing I have on the shelf already! I am just changing media! I did not buy a 50 cent cassette, I bought SONGS!
I can get blank cassettes all day for 50cents to a dollar, so I did not pay $10 and up for media!

I've got boxes (many big ones) of 8track tapes, but I do not even have a working player for them anymore. Why should I not get new copies I can listen too? I already bought Meatloafs Bat outa Hell 3 times! Not gonna do it again! Once 8track, once cassette, again cassette when the first one got ate. I only want ONE song on the whole dang thing too! "2 outa 3 ain't bad" is the song! But in this case it is, I got 2 outa 3 copies i've bought and can't listen to any of em!!

[lagerlout]

When my Flatmates GF moved out she stole quite a few CDs of mine - not the cases just the disks so I wouldn't realise for a while. I had already bought them once, so feel no shame in 'stealing' them off the net. I bought it, and its not as if they'd replace the CD's for me!

Obviously thats just one scenario, most of us are just robbing scum

[Styro]

I don't think the RIAA/MPAA really has a serious grudge with people that download so much as the people sharing copyrighted works without authorization. Sure, they don't like the idea of you downloading content without paying for it (and them having control over it), but a much higher priority is the sharing component. If they can stop people from sharing content without authorization, then the downloaders with be SOL.

I personally prefer to download to sample the content prior to purchase, for replacement of spoiled goods, and for content that cannot be obtained via any other method. Hypothetical examples - If I download an album and like the music enough to burn it to a CD, then I will purchase the album. If a dvd that I have purchased goes bad I should be able to rent that dvd and copy to replace the spoiled one. If a work goes 'out of print' then I should be able to legally obtain a copy for free from someone that has a copy or original (having a work go 'out of print' should expand the fair use laws to cover copying until the copyright holder makes the work widely available again). If a work is not available on digital media (i.e. dvd) then I should be able to legally convert it to digital media until such time that the copyright owners make it available on digital media.

-- Styro
The proceeding was an opinion. Standard disclaimers apply. Despite what is written, the writer makes no claim to advocacy of illegal actions. Any allusion of advocacy of illegal actions is a subjective illusion of the reader. If you strike me down I will come back stronger than you could possibly imagine (or somesuch). Deal with it!

[pixel]

I think that board sounds like a good idea. Just something to have in the worst case scenario of your PC being stolen. I have almost all of my programs stored on one HDD (I do back them up to DVD of course but only now and again so I do always have more programs stored on my HDD than I do backed up) and if anything happened to them or the original CD's I would be devastated, as most of the original CD's are pretty badly scratched.

As for file sharing, I do not like it. It is OK if you want a backup of a file you own AS LONG AS YOU HAVE PROOF OF OWNING THE ORIGINAL (eg. a receipt). I believe it is also legal to share files such as live music videos or live concerts, because these are not copyrighted (it is illegal to pass these on for a profit though).

As for illegal file sharing, I don't care what excuses you have. It is ILLEGAL full stop. Many people say it doesn't hurt because they are big faceless corporations, but when these corporations start losing money, they jack up the price of their products to make up for lost profits, which soon empties normal peoples' pockets.